The OECD’s Education at a Glance 2025 report presents education expenditure as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, consistent with the standard international presentation used across OECD countries. On that basis, the report states that Ireland’s investment in education from primary to tertiary level stood at 2.8 per cent of GDP, compared with an OECD average of 4.7 per cent.
However, GDP is not considered an appropriate denominator for Ireland, given the well-established impact of globalisation-related activities on our economy. For this reason, Modified Gross National Income, or GNI*, is regarded as a more appropriate measure of the underlying domestic economy in the Irish context.
My Department has previously produced a paper explaining the use of Modified GNI in considering education expenditure in Ireland. This paper, Note on use of GDP and modified GNI as a measurement of public expenditure on education in Ireland, is available at: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/oecd-education-expenditure-as-a-percentage-of-modified-gni.pdf.
Using gross voted expenditure for the Department of Education and Youth and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, combined expenditure on education from primary to tertiary level was approximately €15.041 billion in 2023 and €16.478 billion in 2024.
The most recent year for which Modified Gross National Income is available from the CSO is 2024, on a preliminary basis. GNI* at current market prices was €321.098 billion in 2024.
On that basis, combined expenditure by the two Departments represented approximately 5.13% of GNI* in 2024, which compares favourably to other OECD countries.
Combined expenditure across the two education Departments has continued to increase, from approximately €15.041 billion in 2023 to €16.478 billion in 2024, €17.419 billion in 2025 and €18.501 billion in 2026.
This reflects the Government’s continued investment in schools, further and higher education.
